Study: One-Fourth Of NYC Residents Have Herpes
Rates Of Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, And Infectious Syphilis Are Also Higher Than The National Average
NEW YORK (CBS) &#8213; Now might be the time for New Yorkers to take advantage of the free condom campaign the city promotes. A new study by the city's Health Department found more than a quarter of adult residents are infected with the herpes virus.

According to the study, 26 percent of city residents have the virus that causes genital herpes, an incurable sexually-transmitted infection that can cause painful genital sores and can double a person's risk for HIV.

Nationally, 19 percent of the population has the infection, according to the department.

More specifically, the study showed that the rate is higher among women than men  36 percent compared to 19 percent  and was higher among blacks than whites  49 percent versus 14 percent, respectively.

It also found the rate was higher among gay men than heterosexual men  32 percent compared to 18 percent.

"Genital herpes alone will not cause serious problems for most people," said Dr. Julia Schillinger, Director of Surveillance for the Health Department's Bureau of STD Prevention and Control and lead author of the study. "But some people will have painful genital sores and the infection fosters the spread of HIV. We advise New Yorkers to protect themselves and others. Using condoms consistently will help you avoid getting or spreading genital herpes."

The data come from the city's Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which used door-to-door interviews and in-person medical exams to assess the health of New Yorkers on a variety of measures, from diabetes to depression, according to the department.

The study was the city's first measurement of those infected with the virus. Herpes is not the only STD above the national rate in New York City. Rates of Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and infectious syphilis were also higher than the national rate.

Free NYC condoms are available at locations throughout the city. Call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/condoms for more information.

Gold Member

With out sounding elitist...it's going to be impossible not to. This survey had to include all five burroughs. What age groups were tested? Was ethnic background and education part of the study. If you take a test group of 2000 people and it shows 19% have STD it's not really the stats of the most populated city in the US!

Gold Member

Herpes usually isn't a very popular topic around here, so I expect this thread to die fairly quickly.

"Genital herpes alone will not cause serious problems for most people"
But pregnant women who have it can potentially pass it on to their child during birth, so they will end up having to get a cesarean section if they are having an outbreak. Even without an outbreak they risk passing it on during birth. A newborn that contracts it can have severe problems or even die.

Women's symptoms are usually more severe than men's.

"Using condoms consistently will help you avoid getting or spreading genital herpes."
This will only reduce the risk, since herpes can be spread from the areas that the condom doesn't cover. And there is still a (smaller) chance of getting it even if your partner isn't having an outbreak.

And the thing that pisses me off is that they don't routinely give blood tests to check if you have the antibodies, meaning you've been previously exposed to the viruses (HSV-1 or HSV-2). They will examine you, but you may have had the virus but no outbreak, or you didn't realize it was a herpes outbreak. So they will send you on your way thinking that you don't have any STD's. When you get an STD test, ask for a blood test for herpes, and get a copy of the results to show to your sexual partners. Here is a list of herpes blood tests so you can ask you doctor about on e of these tests.

Gold Member

But a condom only cuts the risk in half. People think they are safe just throwing a condom on. The condom doesn't cover the areas around the penis.

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Half? Are you sure about that? If so then the 19% mentioned in the OP is incorrect.

Since the option is either have sex without a condom or not having sex at all; I vote for sex with a condom as well as getting to know a guy pretty well first and perhaps even going to get tested together.

Gold Member

I think condoms cut the risk a lot more than half. Ive always worn condoms & never had any form of STD whatsoever. Lucky? Maybe, but there are risks & there are risks...

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I couldn't find the reference where I read that, but it said using Valtrex (the infected person) cut the risk in half and using a condom cut it in half again.

The risk is large when someone has the herpes sores because the virus is on the sores and skin. But when they don't have any sores, infected people still occasionally have the virus on the skin. This is called viral shedding. When an infected person has no visible sores there is only about a 2-3% chance that they are shedding the virus.

So basically, if you picked a random person that didn't have sores on their genitals, then there would only be about a 0.20 * 0.02 = 0.004 chance (0.4%) that they would have the virus on there skin in the area where they get outbreaks. To catch the virus it has to go through a cut in your skin also, so if you have no cuts, wear a condom, your partner takes a shower before sex and your partner doesn't have any sores, then your risk is pretty low. If you have enough sex with different people, then eventually the odds will catch up to you. And sometimes the sores are not big and are undiagnosed as herpes, so if someone says it's just a rash or something, you should still be worried.

Since HIV became prevalent, herpes was put on the back burner. I read a lot about herpes last year and still don't completely understand the statistics and risks, so I doubt the average person knows much either. And a lot of doctors are ignorant also.

VerifiedGold Member

The thing that kills me about people with Genital Herpes and other STD's is that many will not tell the person they are with that they have it. Some take the attitude of the other person didn't ask so they didn't tell, others just outright lie.

I heard just recently that 1 in 5 have Genital Herpes... and the guy that said it was like "so it's no big deal these days." Well I don't know, but it's a big deal to me.